


Oxygen

by zorac



Series: Echo Park - an anthology [14]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Canon Disabled Character, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-26 03:31:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12050403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zorac/pseuds/zorac
Summary: When Max couldn’t face doing what Chloe had asked her to, she could flee back to another reality where her friend had blue hair. The version of Max that’s left behind doesn’t have that luxury, but perhaps she can find happiness some other way.





	1. You Feel Rejected

“Please just leave.”

I looked around, dazed and confused. A moment before, I’d been on the lawn at Blackwell with my friends, and then suddenly I was in what looked like a hospital room. The girl who just spoke to me was lying on one of those adjustable beds, hooked up to a drip and a ventilator. A photo album lay open on her lap; it, and the girl, seemed strangely familiar. “Chloe?” I asked, uncertain.

“Go away, Max, and don’t come back.”

The unexpected venom in her voice had an almost physical force on me. Not sure what else to do, I quietly got up and left – only to find myself in surroundings I knew all too well: the back room at Chloe’s house. Slowly, memories of the past few hours began to come back to me, except that they didn’t quite feel like _my_ memories. It was as if someone else had been in control of my body.

“Max?” It was William, checking up on me. “Are you okay?”

“I… I’m not sure. Chloe… she asked me to leave.” Then, finally, the memory of why came back to me, and I couldn’t hold back the tears.

“What happened?”

“I let her down when she needed me. Again.” I wiped my eyes. “I should go. If Chloe decides she wants to see me again, she has my number.” I stopped, shaking my head. “I don’t think she will.”

“Max, please just tell me…”

“I’m sorry, William, I can’t. I owe her that much.” Reluctantly, he nodded. “I have to leave now. I… I need to get back to school.” With that, I hurried out of the house.

* * *

I pretty much sleepwalked through my classes that day, and did my best to avoid having to talk to anyone. As soon as I was done, I fled back to my dorm room to try and figure out what the hell was going on. Not caring if I got caught, I dug out my stash of weed, rolled a joint, and lit up. I got all of about five minutes’ peace before there was a knock at the door. I ignored it. When whoever was there knocked a second time, I called out, “who is it?”

“It’s me,” came the response. I recognized the voice, of course. Reluctantly, I opened the door a few inches to reveal a somewhat nervous Victoria. “Maxine… are you okay? You’ve been acting really strange the last day or so. I’m worried about you!”

I hesitated. On the one hand, I felt like this was something I needed to work through on my own; on the other hand, having my best friend to talk to about it might make things easier. I decided to be honest with her, and the rest followed. “No. No, I’m not okay, and I could really use friend to talk to.” I opened the door the rest of the way, gestured for her to come in, and then sat back down on the couch.

Victoria sniffed. “Jeez, Maxine, have you been smoking pot _in your room?_ Are you fucking insane?” She threw open the window, then thoroughly stubbed out the butt and dropped it in the bin. “You know what would happen if one of those security pricks found out; you don’t have family connections to protect you like Nathan does.” I simply shrugged. Getting kicked out of school wasn’t exactly at the top of my list of worries right then. Victoria came over and sat down next to me, looking at me with a rarely-seen serious expression.

“This isn’t like you, normally you’re smarter than that. Talk to me, Maxine. What happened to you?”

I thought for a moment. “Let me start at the beginning: I’ve never told anyone at school this, but I grew up right here in Arcadia Bay. I had a best friend called Chloe, we were inseparable as far back as I can remember. Like, sisters, I guess; I loved her more than anyone else in the world. Then, when I was thirteen, my parents both got jobs up in Seattle, and we moved away.”

I was… torn. The idea of leaving this place and going to the big city was exciting, but at the same time I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Chloe behind. I guess I didn’t do a very good job of explaining that to her, because as much as she tried to be happy for me, I could tell she was hurt and jealous. I hadn’t even gone yet, and already our friendship was already starting to slip away. The last day before we left, Chloe and I had a terrible fight; she blamed me for leaving, and I… We both said some pretty unforgivable things and ended up screaming about how we never wanted to see each other ever again."

“I’m sorry,” said Victoria. “That must have been incredibly painful for you. Did you ever manage to patch it up?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t see her again, until yesterday. I’m getting ahead of myself, though. Chloe’s dad got her a car for a sweet sixteen present, and the first time out on her own, some idiot drove her off the road. When she woke up, she was paralyzed from the neck down, unable even to breathe for herself.”

Suddenly, the memory of that phone call from Joyce was fresh in my mind, and the tears came unbidden to my eyes. Victoria, concern written on her face, pulled me into her arms and held me as I cried into her shoulder. Eventually, I drew back, and she gently wiped the tears from my cheek. “Why did you never tell me about her, about any of this?”

“After we moved, I was full of this… anger and guilt about my break-up with Chloe; I became completely closed off for a long while. It was months before I really started talking to the other kids at my new school. Even then, I never said much about my life before Seattle; and after Chloe’s accident, I just wanted to put my past in a box and hide it away in a dark corner somewhere, because it was too painful to think about. So, when I came to Blackwell, it was already second nature to do that, but at least I’d finally learned how to try and make friends again.” I stopped and smiled at her.

“I’m really glad that you did.”

“Yeah, me too.” I paused. “So, that’s the back-story. As for yesterday… I’m not sure what happened. One minute I was sitting with you on the lawn, the next I was in Chloe’s house this morning. I have these… memories of what happened in between, but they don’t feel right, as if they’re someone else’s; someone who had no idea of what had happened to Chloe. It’s like there was this other version of me who’d lived a very different life since leaving Arcadia Bay, and she just… jumped into my body for a few hours. I guess that doesn’t make an awful lot of sense. Maybe I’m just going crazy.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy, Maxine. Yesterday, when you left, you just changed so suddenly. It did seem a bit like you were possessed or something.” She pondered this for a moment. “Maybe we should see if Kate can do an exorcism? She totally owes us for getting her safely home after her drink got spiked.”

I laughed, and saw a little bit of relief in Victoria’s eyes. “Maybe.” My smile faded as quickly as it appeared. “So, here’s what I remember: Alt-Max took the bus down into town and practically ran to Chloe’s place. Once I got past the shock of seeing her in the chair, with the ventilator, it was almost like no time had passed. We went for a walk, or roll, along the seafront and just talked. Then, after dinner, we watched a movie together. It was comfortable, familiar. It made rethink my opinions about people with disabilities; Chloe wasn’t lying around in bed, waiting to die, she was still living her life. Just… differently.”

“Then, this morning, all that was shattered. I found out that… that her respiratory system is failing. She doesn’t have long left.” The empathy in Victoria’s eyes almost overwhelmed me, but she didn’t say anything, letting me finish. “Her parents don’t think she knows, but she does. She…” I took a deep breath and looked Victoria straight in the eye. “Chloe asked me to give her a morphine overdose. She said she wanted to end it on her own terms. She said that she wanted her last memories to be of me.” The last sentence was almost a whisper.

“Oh, Maxine,” said Victoria, taking my hands. “I’m so sorry. It wasn’t fair of Chloe to ask you to do that.”

“It doesn’t matter. I couldn’t do it. Chloe was counting on me to respect her wishes, to do the difficult thing, and I let her down. She never wants to see me again. That was when I ‘woke up’ – with her telling me to leave, her voice full of bitterness and disappointment. So I left her there to die slowly and came back to my own life.” Again, the tears came, and again, Victoria took me in her arms. That time I cried for a long, long while.

Eventually, Victoria spoke. “I do understand how you feel, better than you might think. My favorite aunt passed away a couple of years ago. We were very close, she was like a third parent to me. To be honest, she was far better at it than my actual Mom and Dad; she always had time for me, and made me feel like she cared about _me_ , rather than some idealized daughter I was never quite able to become.”

“The illness that took her was neither swift nor merciful. She spent the last six months of her life completely bedridden and in constant pain. She put a brave face on it for the first few weeks, but it became increasingly clear, at least to me, that she essentially had no quality of life left. I would visit her several times a week, and she was always happy to see me, her sharp mind still there, but she could barely focus for a few minutes before she was drawn back into the semi-comatose state she used to hide from the worst of the pain.”

“One day, I got to the nursing home to find that my Mom was already there with one of my aunt’s doctors; they were arguing. My aunt wanted them to stop treating her, but the doctor was saying that ethically and legally he wasn’t allowed to do that, and Mom was taking his side. As they left I clearly heard my aunt begging them to let her die. That night, she tried to kill herself, but the nurses stopped her.” Victoria began to cry.

“After that, they brought in a new, tamper-proof morphine dispenser. The next time I saw her, I asked if there was something I could do to help her, seeing as her sister wouldn’t. She knew what I meant, and made me promise not to do anything; said she didn’t want me to have that on my conscience, or to risk jail for her. It was another three months before she finally passed away and I’ve always felt guilty that I never did anything, promise or no promise.”

I clumsily rearranged us so that now I was the one holding Victoria, instead of the other way around. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, but you can’t blame yourself for what happened. If you respected her wishes in one way, you’d be betraying them in another.”

“I know,” sobbed Victoria, “I just miss her so fucking much, and I hate that she had to go through that.” Not sure what else to say, I just held her tightly. Some time later, she squirmed around in my arms until she was facing me; it seemed that she was as reluctant to end the embrace as I was. “You do realize that if you had done what Chloe asked, you’d probably be sat in a jail cell right now, facing a murder charge? Do you really think that’s what she would want?”

I thought about that for a few moments. Victoria was right; I couldn’t see any other likely outcome, short of Joyce or William taking the fall for me. “No,” I said at last, “she wouldn’t.” After a while, I continued. “Thank-you Victoria, for… everything. I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to relive what happened to your Aunt, but it really did help me put things in perspective.”

Victoria smiled at me. “You’re welcome, Maxine. You’re my best friend, you’d do the same for me; it’s part of the contract.” That gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. I’d thought of Victoria as my closest friend for almost as long as I’d been at Blackwell, but this was the first time she’d said that she felt the same way; considering she was Miss Popular long before I came to the school, I’d assumed I was just one more friend among many.

Any further thoughts were interrupted by a phone chime. Not sure whose it was, we broke apart to check. Almost immediately, I found myself missing the sensation of Victoria pressed against me. Shaking that feeling off, I got up to grab my phone off the nightstand, belatedly remembering that I’d put it on silent when I retreated up to my room. There were a bunch of messages from my other friends Blackwell, checking up on me. I smiled, and sent quick replies. Then I noticed the time; the school canteen would be long closed. “I’m sorry, I’ve made you miss dinner.”

Victoria grinned, putting her phone away. “That just means I’ve got a perfectly good excuse to take you out for a meal!”

“Wait, what?” _Did Victoria Chase just ask me out?_

Victoria flushed, presumably realizing what her previous statement sounded like. “I mean, seeing as we can’t eat here, we’ll have to go somewhere else,” she babbled, “and unlike you I have a car so I can drive us, and it would be nice to have someone to eat dinner with in a totally friendly, non-date-like manner.”

“Are you always this articulate?” I drawled.

Victoria barked out a short laugh. “Sorry; at least I’m not brandishing a fish at you.”

I giggled as I realized she’d picked up on my obscure Disney reference. “I’d love to have dinner with you. What did you have in mind?”

“There’s an Indian place that’s just opened up in town, and I haven’t had the chance to try it out yet. I ate a _lot_ of curries while I was in England over the summer, and I’ve been in withdrawal ever since. Want to give it a shot?”

“Sure, as long as they have something that wont take the roof off my mouth.” I like spicy food as much as the next person, but the flavorsome kind rather than overly hot.

“No Vindaloo for Max, got it. Come on, then; I just need to grab my keys, and we can go.” I pulled on a thick hoodie while she did that, then we headed down to the parking lot and Victoria’s silver Mercedes. The drive into town only took a few minutes, and soon we were sat down in the restaurant. The place wasn’t exactly packed, but they seemed to be doing reasonably well.

The waiter handed us menus, and I leafed through mine, quickly becoming overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices on offer. I looked at Victoria plaintively. “Not had Indian food before?” she asked with a smirk. I simply shook my head. “Okay, so keep it simple, and you said you don’t like it hot… do you trust me to order for you?”

“Of course.” I returned her smirk. “I guess that means you wear the pants in our relationship.”

Victoria quirked an eyebrow at me. “You seem awfully determined to paint this as a date. Is there anything you would like to tell me, Maxine?”

I flushed, realizing I couldn’t deny that I found that idea of actually having a date with Victoria very appealing. “I… uh…”

“Are you always this articulate?”

“Touché,” I muttered. Thankfully, the waiter arrived to take our order, saving me from further teasing.

“I’ll have the Murgh Makhani and a Peshwari Naan. My friend will have the Chicken Korma and Pilau Rice.”

“Poppadoms?”

“Yes, please. A couple each should be fine. And two Mango Lassis to drink.” She passed the menus to the waiter, and turned back to me. “So?” I wasn’t really sure what to say, and soon she pressed on. “I’m going to come right out and ask, then. Are you gay, Maxine?”

“I…” A sigh; again, I decided on honesty. “I haven’t really figured out exactly what my sexuality is yet, but I’m pretty sure I’m not straight if that helps you any.”

“I guess my gaydar isn’t completely on the fritz, then.”

“Wait. You’re…?”

“Not straight either? Yup, but being bisexual means I can present that way. At least, I could, until I got a serious crush on a girl, and lost interest in guys altogether.” My heart constricted. Victoria was crushing on another girl? I felt a sudden rush of jealousy. She must have read my expression, because she hurried to tell me, “It’s you, dummy!”

“Oh,” I said in a small voice, relief flooding into me. Then, I smiled. “I guess that means we can stop pretending that this isn’t a date.”

Victoria laughed. “I suppose we can.” Before she could say any more, our waiter arrived with the drinks, poppadoms, and a tray with four small pots on it. These, Victoria called pickles; she passed me one of them. “As a first-timer, you should probably stick with the mango chutney.” She then proceeded to eat the lion’s share of the other three with her poppadoms. “So,” she asked when she was finished, “when did you know?”

“Know what? That I’m not straight, or that I like you?”

“Either. Both.”

“I guess the answer to the first is ‘forever’. My first crush was on Chloe, and that started long before I was old enough to be thinking about my sexuality. Of course, I never said anything to her, and she never gave me any hint that she felt the same way – we were barely teenagers the last time I saw her, after all. So, after we moved away, I forced myself to put that behind me. In Seattle, the first person I got attracted to was a guy, which just confused me. Since then, I’d say I definitely lean towards girls, especially if you include celebrity crushes.”

“That sounds kinda bi to me, Maxine.”

I shrugged. “Possibly, or I could be a lesbian who’s able to aesthetically appreciate men but wouldn’t actually want to date one, or maybe I’m pan. Hell, for all I know I could actually be ace, it’s not like I’ve had any opportunity to find out.”

“Wait…” said Victoria, “this is your first date, like, ever?”

“Um, yeah,” I said, rather embarrassed to admit it.

“I’m sorry,” said Victoria, looking a little upset, “if I’d known, I would have made more of an effort.”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up. I think we both would have made more of an effort if we’d actually realized this was a date before we were already on it!”

“You make a good point,” Victoria said, as our food arrived. The curries were in elegant metal bowls, with my rice in a smaller one and her flatbread quartered on a plate. We both tucked in with gusto.

“This is delicious,” I told her, “and nothing like as hot as I was expecting. I can see myself happily eating my way through much of the rest of the menu.”

“Almost all of the other dishes will be hotter,” she warned me, “but the majority will be spicy rather than fiery. Here, try some of mine.” She spooned a portion of her curry onto my plate, and passed me a piece of the naan bread, which appeared to be stuffed with fruit and nuts. “So,” she continued, “you never did answer the second half of my question.”

I had to stop and think for a moment. “Oh, right. Well I liked you right off the bat, that much should be obvious from how quickly we became friends. I’ve been wondering for almost as long if there was something more, but it wasn’t until this evening, when I was in your arms, that I was certain I _liked_ you. When did you know?”

“I’m not sure; it’s been a week or two since I started seriously crushing on you. I’ve been looking for some sort of indication that you were interested, but like you, after all the… physical contact earlier, I knew I had to say something.” She reached out and took my hand. “I’d like to see where this goes.”

“Me too,” I replied, squeezing her hand in return. We stayed like that for a few moments, then separated, finishing our meal in happy silence. At last, we had eaten our fill – to be honest, there wasn’t much left. Victoria insisted on paying the check, on the grounds that she was the one who’d asked me out; I wasn’t so proud as to argue, given how rich her family was. Once we got out into the cool night air, I pulled Victoria into a hug. “Thank-you, that was the best date ever!”

She laughed. “I’d be much more flattered if you actually had a basis for comparison. Going out for dinner is about as unoriginal as it gets.”

“Maybe, but you introduced me to a delicious kind of food I’d never tried before, and otherwise might never have. That’s pretty damn awesome, Victoria. Seriously, if you ever need a curry buddy, just give me a shout.”

“Thanks, Maxine.” She held the car door open for me with a courteous bow.

“Why, thank-you milady!” I said as I climbed in. She gently shut the door behind me, and soon we were on our way back to Blackwell. “So, I’m going to try one last time to compliment you. What makes a date great is not what you do, but who you’re with, and I don’t think I could have done any better.”

“Really? You wouldn’t rather be on a date with, say, Jennifer Lawrence, or Emma Watson, or Scarlett Johansson, or…”

“No. Unless maybe I was in some bizarro alternate universe where I’d never met you and was best friends with one of them instead. Even then, they’re all a bit old for me, really. Nope, I think I much prefer to be on this date with you.”

“Oh, come on, Maxine. Emma and J-Law are, what, four, maybe five years older than us? Still, I take your point… and your compliment.” We arrived back at the school; Victoria parked up and we headed back to the dorm. It was pretty late, and there was no-one else around, so I reached out and took her hand in mine.

Victoria looked at me and smiled. “Thank-you, that was the best evening I’ve had in as long as I can remember. I just realized that you’ve been telling me what a great date it was, and I’d forgotten to tell you I felt the same way.”

“You’re welcome.”

All too soon, we were back on our corridor. Victoria lingered by my door. She looked quickly around to check there was no-one else in sight, then she leaned forward and kissed me. It only lasted a moment, but I was dumbstruck. “Goodnight, Maxine,” she said, then vanished into her room.

“Goodnight, Victoria,” I whispered to the empty hall. Then my gaze was drawn to the next door along, where I briefly saw a pair of wide eyes before it was quickly closed.


	2. A Face Can Change

Tempted as I’d been to go straight over to her room, it wasn’t until the next afternoon that I talked to Kate. We both had a free period, and I was debating whether to go and see her when there was a knock at my door. I opened it to find her standing awkwardly outside. “Hi, Max. I… could I talk to you for a few minutes?”

“Of course, Kate, come on in. Would you like some tea?”

“Yes, please.” I put the kettle on while she sat down on the couch. She was wringing her hands; it seemed pretty clear that she had something she wanted to say, but was unsure as to how to start. I decided to prompt her.

“So, I was planning on coming to talk to you about last night, but I guess that you beat me to it.”

“I just wanted to check that you were okay. I don’t claim to know what’s going on between you and Victoria, but I could tell that her kiss caught you by surprise. If I’d honestly thought that it was unwelcome, I’d have come out and said something there and then, but I just wanted to let you know that I’m here for you if you do need someone to talk to.”

That wasn’t at all what I was expecting. The kettle clicked off, and I poured boiling water into the teapot while I collected my thoughts. “Um… thanks, Kate. I really do appreciate you looking out for me. You’re right, Victoria did catch me a little bit off guard, but a kiss like that is a perfectly acceptable end to a first date – even if it was only half a date, really.”

Kate beamed at me. “That’s great! Wait… how can you have half a date?”

“I had… a rough couple of days. Victoria came to check on me, and we ended up talking for hours; so long that we missed dinner. Victoria suggested we should go get something to eat, and I teased her about asking me out. It was only over dinner that we both admitted to liking each other, or for that matter that we like girls. After that, we agreed that we should probably call it a date after all.”

“I’m so happy for you both!” She paused, looking at me shrewdly. “Not quite what you were expecting?” I shook my head, feeling somewhat ashamed. “That’s okay. Believe me, if it was my mother you were having this conversation with, she’d be telling you in no uncertain terms that you were both going straight to hell. I’m a little more broad-minded than that.”

“I’m sorry,” I said as I poured the tea into a pair of mugs and passed one to her. “I guess I’m the judgmental one.”

“I wouldn’t go that far; I’m well aware that religion in general has not exactly been accepting of homosexuality. You have every right to be cautious, even with a friend.” She paused for a moment. “I also wanted to tell you what a good influence on Victoria you’ve been, and how grateful for that I am. She used to be an okay person when she first started here, but last semester she just got increasingly mean. As one of her favorite targets I was somewhat dreading the new school year.”

“Then, you came along, and you were so effortlessly popular without being mean, and she seemed to want to emulate that. Thanks to you, Victoria has become a better person again. Take that party, for example. Almost as soon as I started acting out of character, Victoria realized what had happened, found you, and made sure that I got home safely. The old Victoria would probably have pulled out her phone, filmed me doing something horribly embarrassing, and posted it on YouTube.”

She sighed. “I don’t know what it was that made her behave that way, but I’m glad you brought her back; not just for my sake, but for hers.”

“Thanks, Kate, I appreciate that.”

“So, is there going to be a second date?”

“I really hope so,” I said with a smile. I guess it must have been a pretty goofy one, because Kate actually giggled.

* * *

Later that afternoon, I knocked on Victoria’s door. “Hi, Maxine,” she said with a smirk, then beckoned me in. “Couldn’t stay away from me, I see.”

“You are pretty irresistible. Unfortunately, I can’t stay long; I have a mountain of work to catch up on. There’s just something that I thought I should tell you: Kate knows about us.”

“You told her?” I wasn’t sure how to interpret her tone of voice.

“She saw you kissing me last night.”

Victoria sighed. “My fault, I guess. Or yours, for being so damn cute. I guess that means she talked to you – was she all fire and brimstone?”

“Actually, no. She was really sweet, said she was happy for us. Apparently I’m a good influence on you.”

Victoria raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is that right?” She paused to consider. “Actually, she does have a point. I did use to be pretty horrible to her; I’m not even sure why, now that I think back.” She looked a bit upset. “I guess I owe her a serious apology.”

“Rescuing her at that party was a good start, but an actual apology wouldn’t be a terrible idea. Just… have a good think about what you want to say; at this point there’s no need to rush it.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks, Maxine. Hey, are you coming to the party tonight?”

I shook my head. “After what happened with Chloe, I’m really not in a party mood. Sorry.”

Victoria took my hand. “That’s okay, I thought you probably wouldn’t want to. Look, if you’d like some company this evening…”

“No,” I cut her off. “Thanks, but you’re the face of the Vortex Club; you can’t skip out on them. I’ll be fine, you should go have a good time. Besides, you have to be there when Jefferson declares you the winner of the _Everyday Heroes_ contest.”

“Or to collect the prize on your behalf.”

“Please! I’ve seen your entry; mine’s just something I gave Jefferson at the last minute to get him off my back. You’ve totally got this in the bag.”

She smiled at me. “Thanks. Coming from you, that means a lot.”

“So, I might be skipping the End of the World, but I’d still really like to spend some quality time with you this weekend, just the two of us.”

“I’d love that. It’s a date.”

“For reals this time!” We both laughed. “I should get back to my work. Have fun at the party, I’ll see you sometime tomorrow and we can figure out our date.”

“Not too early, please!” Victoria pulled me into a quick hug, then I headed out the door.

* * *

On Saturday morning, I was surprised to get a call from Joyce; it seemed that I was wrong about was wrong about Chloe never wanting to see me again. Nevertheless, it was with trepidation that I caught the bus into town and walked over to the Price house. William met me at the door. “Hello again, young Max. Chloe’s expecting you, but she’s not having a great day, so don’t expect her to be quite as full of life as last time you were here.”

I nodded. “Okay, thanks for the heads up.”

“Well, you know where she is. Go say hello.”

Nervous, I knocked on the door of Chloe’s room, not wanting to barge in on her. “Come in,” she called. I stepped through the door and closed it behind me. We looked at one another for a long moment, then both spoke at once.

“I’m sorry.”

“Jinx,” said Chloe quickly, then we both laughed, and the tension ebbed from the room.

Tentatively, I went across the room and sat down beside her. “I’m sorry I let you down,” I said, “I just…”

Chloe cut me off. “No need to apologize. I should never have asked. Springing that on you out of the blue was selfish and unfair. Besides, I didn’t really think it through – I don’t want anyone going to jail for me, least of all you or my parents. It’s just that sometimes, knowing what’s coming…” She trailed off then, after a moment, continued. “Instead, I’d like to spend more time with you, if I can. I mean I don’t want to get in the way of school, or your friends…”

“You’re my oldest friend, Chloe. Of course I want to spend time with you.”

“You do have friends a school, though? Much as I love how close we were as kids, in hindsight it wasn’t exactly healthy for us to have no other real friends.”

I remembered how desperately lonely I’d been after we moved up to Seattle, and realized for the first time that maybe Chloe had felt the same way. “Yeah, I did finally learn how to make friends, and I do have a couple of pretty close ones, so no need to worry about me.”

Chloe nodded. “So, anyone… special?” She asked, waggling her eyebrows.

I flushed. “I did sort of go on a date the other night.”

“Go Max! Does this lucky guy have a name?”

“Her name,” I said nervously, “is Victoria.”

“Is she hot?” asked Chloe, without missing a beat.

“Totally, way out of my league.”

“Tell me more! And why did this never come up last time you were here?”

“Because it only just happened. We’ve been friends since the start of term; at first it was because she used to be the Bitch Queen of Blackwell, and she wanted to make sure she had an in with the most popular of the new kids.”

“You? Miss popular?”

“I know! I really have no idea how that happened. Anyway, after a while, we became close and I found out that she’s a really nice person underneath. On… on Thursday, I was pretty much a zombie the whole time, so Victoria came to check up on me after class. We ended up talking for hours and missed dinner altogether, so she took me out for Indian food. While we were there, we both ended up admitting that we actually wanted it to be a date.”

“That is super-adorable. You should totally bring her to meet me! I can threaten her with a horrible death if she ever hurts you, and then tell her all sorts of embarrassing little-Max stories.”

“You’re really not selling this plan to me,” I muttered.

“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun. Besides, you totally owe me.” I wasn’t really sure what in particular I owed her for, but didn’t have the heart to disagree.

“Okay, I’ll think about it, but do you mind if I leave that a little while? We’ve only been on one date so far; it could still all go horribly wrong.”

“Hey! Don’t be a pessimist! You deserve this, so enjoy it. Plus, you need to make it work so that I can live vicariously through you.”

“Aye, aye, Cap’n Chloe!” I laughed. I stopped when I saw her wincing. “Are you okay?” I asked, despite knowing what a stupid question it was.

“I’m just having a… not great pain day. I’m sorry, I know you’ve only just got here but I think I’ve reached my limit of being sociable. I’d just like to go back to sleep.”

“Of course, whatever you need. Any time I get to spend with you is precious. I’ll see you again soon.”

“Don’t forget to bring Victoria! Bye, Max.”

“Goodbye, Chloe.” I slipped out of her room and was greeted by the smell of pancakes. William was sat at the table with a large stack of them in front of him.

“So,” he asked, “did you two patch things up? You weren’t in there for long…”

“Yeah, we’re good. Like you said, Chloe’s not having a great day, she just wanted to get some rest.”

“That’s great! You should go see if you can scrounge some of these mighty fine pancakes.” I grinned and headed through to the kitchen. Joyce turned around and I immediately pulled her into a hug. The woman had been like a second mother to me when I was growing up, and I suddenly realized that I’d missed her almost as much as I had Chloe.

I stepped back and she smiled at me. “It’s so good to see you again, Max. It never felt right when you and Chloe were on the outs.” She turned back to her the pancakes. “You want to help me with these?” Shortly, we had two more plates piled high with carb-laden goodness, and sat down with William to eat. It was just like old times, when Chloe and I would have sleepovers and I’d come down to have breakfast with her parents long before she woke up.

After we’d eaten, I insisted on doing the dishes to give them both a break. When I was finished, I saw that they’d disappeared upstairs. Smiling, I let myself out and headed back to school.

* * *

When I got to the dorm, it was early afternoon. I saw that Victoria’s door was open, so I stuck my head in to say hello. She immediately smiled at me. “Hi there, Maxine, I was wondering where you’d got to.”

“I had a call that Chloe wanted to see me, so was down at her place this morning.”

“That’s good, right? Are you two okay now?”

“Yeah. We both apologized, and just like that we were old friends again.” I grinned. “She wants to meet you.”

“Wait, what?” She definitely had a bit of a deer in the headlights look about her at that moment.

“Don’t worry, I bought you some time, but…”

“No, that’s okay. She’s your oldest friend, and she’s clearly very important to you. I’d like to meet her.”

“Thank-you,” I said. And then, emboldened, I pulled Victoria in and kissed her. After a moment’s surprise, she responded eagerly. It was our first proper kiss – _my_ first proper kiss. Victoria did not disappoint. Eventually, we parted, both breathing heavily. “Wowsers,” was all I could manage.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” said Victoria with a smirk. “And if you though that was good, just wait until…”

“Please,” I begged, cutting her off, “give me some time to adjust before you think about finishing that sentence. I’m new to this whole thing.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, kissing me softly, “it’s easy to forget after a kiss like that one.”

“Smooth, Chase, very smooth.”

“Why, thank-you, Maxine,” she said with a small bow, then laughed. “So, about our date. Do you want to do something together tonight? Going out on the town isn’t really an option until we’re ready to be open about our sexualities and our relationship, so how about a movie night here?”

“Snuggling up with you on the couch all evening? Count me in!”

“Cool, so, come over whenever you’re ready. In the meantime, I’m afraid I’ve got an essay to write.”

“Yeah, me too.” I turned to leave, then a thought occurred to me. “Hey, earlier, when you were wondering where I was, why didn’t you just message me?”

“I… I didn’t want to come across as overly clingy,” she said, looking rather embarrassed.

“You wouldn’t have hesitated to text me last week.” I kissed her briefly, “don’t make this weird.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she said, kissing me back. “Now scoot, or we’re both going to end up getting behind on our work.”

A few hours later, I headed back to Victoria’s room, wearing my PJs and toting a box of cookies my parents had sent. She greeted me clad in midnight blue silk, and I couldn’t help staring. “Like what you see?” she purred.

“Mmm-hmm,” I managed. “I have serious nightwear envy right now.” Victoria merely raised an eyebrow. “What? Why else would I have been studying you so intently?” I asked with poorly feigned innocence.

That drew a laugh. “Come on in, you’ve got all evening to ogle me.”

“I was planning on doing more than ogling,” I said softly as I brushed past her into the room. Soon, we were curled up together on the couch with a huge bowl of popcorn that Victoria had conjured up from somewhere. As the first DVD started up, I gave her a strange look. “Why are we watching an Adam Sandler movie?”

“Trust me, it’s actually really sweet. Besides, it has Drew Barrymore in,” she said, as if that explained everything. After a moment’s reflection, I decided that I saw her point. Plus, I had to admit the implausible high-concept plot involving a guy romancing a woman whose short-term memory got wiped every night was kinda adorable.

It was only reluctantly that I released Victoria to get up and change the disc; being close to her was intoxicating. “Drew again?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “Should I be jealous?”

“Hardly. She’s a little bit out of my league!”

“No more than you’re out of my league,” I muttered

“Hey! None of that. You’re smart and talented and unbelievably cute. There is _no-one_ I would rather be with right now.” She punctuated her point with a breathtaking kiss. “Okay?”

“Okay,” I replied, vaguely dazed. Victoria pulled me into her arms and started up the film. This one had Hugh Grant as a washed-up 80s pop star. We weren’t far into the film when I was reminded of something. “I’ve completely forgotten about Lisa!”

“Who’s Lisa?” Victoria asked with a hint of suspicion in her tone.

“My plant! I haven’t watered her for a few days. If I kill her with neglect my Mom will never let me live it down.”

“You named your plant?”

“Of course!” I replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Victoria just shrugged and turned back to the movie. Soon, I felt her hands moving as she began to gently caress me; all very innocent, but it still made me shiver. I was sufficiently distracted that I almost missed the end of the film.

“One more?” Victoria asked.

I nodded, not wanting the evening to end. “I just need to pop to the bathroom.” By the time I returned, she already had the DVD cued up, so I wasn’t sure what we were watching, but it appeared to start with a wedding. Spotting a familiar face, I couldn’t resist snarking “I’m not sure I’d want Cersei Lannister doing the flowers at _my_ wedding!” Victoria laughed.

A few minutes later, when the florist’s eyes met those of the bride as she walked up the aisle, I got a sneaking suspicion that I knew where the plot was going. I turned to raise an eyebrow at Victoria. She smirked, and said, “it wouldn’t be right for our rom-com night to be completely straight!” I giggled, and snuggled back against her.

It was actually the first film I remember seeing that focused on a lesbian relationship. As it drew to a close and the two women got their happy ending, I found myself thinking that “I want that.” Then I flushed, as I realized that I’d said it out loud.

“Really?”

I turned around and sat in her lap, pressing our bodies together. “Yes,” I whispered before pressing my lips to hers. Victoria moaned, deepening the kiss. After a minute or two we parted, both a little breathless. “This isn’t just a phase for me, or a little bit of experimentation. We’re both still young, and this is my first relationship, so there’s every chance this won’t be the one that goes all the way; I just wanted to let you know that I’m open to that possibility.”

Victoria just stared at me mutely. After a few awkward seconds, I began to pull back. “I’m sorry. Too much, so soon. I should go.” I started to get up, but she caught my arm and pulled be back.

“No, I’m the one who should be sorry. What you said… it really threw me, but in a good way. Somehow you just summed up exactly what I’m feeling, but couldn’t find the words to say. I’d really like to give this a try; no pressure, but no holding back either.”

“Okay,” I said. Then, not really having anything more to say, I fell forward into Victoria’s arms and initiated a series of kisses that felt like it lasted for hours. Eventually, tiredness got the better of us and we separated. “I should head to bed,” I said reluctantly.

“Or you could stay,” Victoria suggested. “Just to sleep. I… I like the idea of cuddling up with you and drifting off, and waking up tomorrow to find you’re still here.”

“That sounds really good,” I admitted, yawning. “And clearly I’m too tired to make it safely across the hall.” A few moments later, I was safely ensconced in the bed, with her arms wrapped around me. “Goodnight, Victoria.”

“Goodnight, Maxine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you don’t want to figure it out on IMDb, the films the girls watched are _50 First Dates_ , _Music and Lyrics_ , and _Imagine Me & You_.


	3. We're All Connected

Waking up the next morning was an experience both old and new. The last person I shared a bed with was Chloe; we had endless sleepovers back in the day, so I got kinda used to waking up next to her. Of course, she never kissed me the way that Victoria did when she saw I was awake. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said once we separated.

“The best,” I replied with a smile, then pulled her down for another kiss. This one went further as we held each other more tightly, but when I felt Victoria’s thigh pressing up between my legs I let out a surprised squeak.

“Sorry!” she exclaimed, quickly pulling back. “I’m sorry, I just got a bit carried away there.” She actually looked quite upset.

I deliberately smiled up at her. “It’s okay, I may not quite be ready for that yet, but I trust you not to push me further than I’m comfortable with.”

“Thanks, Maxine, I appreciate that. I guess I was… uh… falling back into old habits”

Realization dawned. “I’m not going to be your first, am I?”

She flushed. “No. I’m sorry, I should have said something. And don’t worry, that’s long over.”

“Hey, hey, it’s fine. I may not be an expert, but I’m pretty sure that exchanging relationship histories is not a recommended first date activity. Besides, it’s probably a good thing that one of us will know what we’re doing.” I grinned. “Of course, now you have to tell me all about her. How… when did you meet, what was she like?”

Victoria hesitated, then smiled. “It was over the summer. I spent a few weeks in London; my first time on holiday alone, without the parents constantly hovering nearby. A lot of the other rich kids I know were doing that whole Grand Tour of Europe, a different city every few days. I wanted to stay in one place, see more than just the tourist hotspots; really get to know the city. Use my camera to take real pictures, not just vacation snapshots.” She grinned, “God, I took so many photos.”

“I’d like to see those some time.”

“Of course, but I warn you, I haven’t had the time to properly sort through them yet, so the holiday snaps and the artistic shots are all jumbled together. Anyway, I met Sangeeta the third night I was there. I’d gone to a pub not far from the hotel where I was staying because they had an open mic thing going on. She played a couple of songs and I was just entranced. I guess she must have seen me staring, because after her set she marched straight over to the bar and demanded to know if I was going to buy her a drink.”

“We hit it off straight away, so we ended up having several drinks, and then she introduced me to the great British tradition of the late-night post-pub curry. After that, we spent a lot of evenings and weekends together, visiting some of her favorite places in London and the nearby towns. Plus she continued my education in Indian cuisine and… other spicy things.”

“Meaning,” I asked, my face a picture of innocence, “hot girl-on-girl action?”

Victoria coughed violently. “Jeez, Max!”

“Tell me I’m wrong,” I challenged her, smirking.

“You’re not wrong.”

“Well, I hope that someday soon I’ll find out if you’re as good a teacher as you are a student.”

“Whenever you’re ready, Maxine.” Smooth, confident Victoria was back.

“So… how did it end, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Victoria shrugged. “It was time for me to come back to the States. We’d both figured out well before then that, even though we were great friends, and thoroughly enjoyed falling into bed together, it was never going to be anything more than a holiday romance. We said our fond farewells at the airport, and that was it.”

“Do you miss her?”

“Yes, and no. I miss my friend, but we stay in touch by email and we’ve Skyped a few times. The rest… makes for a wonderful memory, one that wouldn’t survive back here in the real world. Sangeeta’s found herself a nice Indian girl – not quite what her parents would like, but better than a white boy, let alone a white girl like me. And I… I have you.” She smiled beautifully, leaving me no choice but to kiss her.

“I’m jealous. I spent my summer stacking shelves at Walmart. No exciting foreign cities or enticing foreign ladies.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Maxine. Maybe next summer can be different, for both of us. I’m thinking… Paris.” That gave me pause; was she really thinking about us being together that far into the future?

“That might be a little out of my price range…”

“Benefits of having a wealthy girlfriend, Maxine, you don’t have to pay.”

“Girlfriend?”

She flushed. “I’m not saying we have to start using that label straight away, but I would hope that if we’re still together at the end of the school year…”

“Sorry,” I cut her off, “I didn’t mean it like that. You just surprised me. We’ve already got the ‘friend’ part down cold, and it’s clear that we both want more, so I have no problem with being your girlfriend right now.”

Victoria smiled and kissed me. “The same goes for me.”

“Wow, I have a girlfriend! I would not have seen that coming three days ago…” She laughed, and then I heard the message chime from my phone. I grabbed it off the nightstand to see a text from Joyce. “It’s Chloe’s Mom. She’s having a better day and wondering if I’m up for a longer visit. And Joyce is making waffles.” I was torn between wanting to spend more time catching up with my old friend, and wanting to stay in bed with my new girlfriend.

“We should go. You said that Chloe wanted to meet me, and I’d like to meet someone who’s so important to you. Plus, now that you’ve mentioned them, I do have a hankering for waffles.”

“I guess that settles it, then. I should go and get changed.”

“Wait,” she instructed, then pulled me in for one last lingering kiss. “Now you may go.”

* * *

This time, it was Joyce who answered the door. “Hello again, Max. And…”

“This is my girlfriend, Victoria. Chloe insisted on meeting her, I think she plans on either threatening Victoria or embarrassing me.”

“Probably both,” said Joyce with a laugh. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Victoria. Any friend of Max is welcome here.”

“Thank-you, Mrs. Price.”

“Joyce, please. I’m glad you both came; I seem to have made far too many waffles for just three people to eat.” She ushered us inside to where William was sat at the dining table. He’d already made a start on the food, and was cutting off bite-sized portions for Chloe.

“Hi, you must be Victoria,” said Chloe. “This is a pleasant surprise; I wasn’t expecting to meet you so soon.”

Victoria smiled. “Maxine did say she’d tried to put you off, but I insisted on meeting the person who’s so important to my girlfriend.”

“I like her,” Chloe grinned at me, “and it must be love if she can get away with calling you Maxine.” Then, in a spot-on impersonation of my angry voice, “Max! Never Maxine!” Joyce and William shared a laugh; they’d both been on the receiving end of that when I was younger.

“I relaxed my stance on ‘never’ some time ago,” I said, somewhat defensively. “I’ve gotten used to some people calling me Maxine, and now it would seem wrong for them to call me Max.”

“Are you sure, Max?” asked Victoria.

“Yup. Coming from you, that just doesn’t sound right.”

“Anyway,” said Joyce, “you two sit down and help yourself. Can I get you some coffee?”

“Yes, please!” Victoria and I said in unison.

“So,” began Chloe once we had our caffeine, “sort-of date to girlfriends in, what, three days? You’re not hanging around.” Seeing the confused expressions on Joyce and William’s faces, I launched into another explanation of our first date. By the time Chloe had teased out all the details of both dates, we were all done with breakfast.

I insisted on helping William clear the table, and after we were done with the dishes, I could see that Victoria and Chloe were in the garden. When I got out there, Victoria looked up from where she was sitting on the swing. “So, Chloe threatened to run me over if I ever hurt you.”

“Well, as threats go, that’s not a particularly scary one unless someone ties you down first. No offense,” I looked at Chloe, relieved to see her grinning, “but I was hoping for something involving Ninjas.”

“Nah, I like her too much to break out the heavy artillery. Sorry, Max.”

I sighed dramatically. “Fine, I’ll just have to get Kate to defend my honor instead.” I look backed to Victoria. “She can, I dunno, sic her bunny rabbit on you or something…” The other two shared a laugh at that, then Victoria got up to give me a hug.

“If Kate’s bunny is anything like the one from Monty Python, then that’s a pretty serious threat. I think I’ll just have to plan on not hurting you.”

“I guess that means I should try to avoid hurting you too.” I replied, then kissed her. When I pulled away, I glanced at Chloe and saw bright tears shining in her eyes. “I’m sorry. You don’t need a reminder…”

“It’s fine,” said Chloe, blinking rapidly. “Sure, I’m a little bit jealous, but mostly I’m just really happy for you.” I could hear in her voice that it was the truth. “Remember what I said the other day about living vicariously through you? This is what I was talking about.”

“So,” I asked, “basically you’re making out with my girlfriend by proxy?”

Victoria raised her hand. “I don’t have a problem with that!” Then, _sotto voce_ , “We can even skip the ‘by proxy’ part if you like.”

“I heard that!” I said indignantly.

“And I didn’t say which end of the kiss I was imagining myself on,” pointed out Chloe.

“Well, then,” smirked Victoria. “In that case, did you know that you were Maxine’s first crush?”

“No, I did not. Please, tell me more.”

I covered my face with my hands, and peeked at my friends through the gaps between my fingers. “Is this how it’s going to be? You two ganging up on me?”

They shared a look, and a grin, then answered together: “Yes!”

I was saved from further teasing by the first smattering of raindrops, which quickly drove us back indoors. We retreated to Chloe’s bedroom, discussing what to do next. Chloe nervously made a request. “Actually… if it’s not too weird, I’d kinda like to watch you two making out some more.”

“I see you’re taking the whole ‘living vicariously’ thing seriously,” teased Victoria.

Chloe gave her a sad smile. “I have to get my kicks where I can.”

“I’m sor…” she began, but Chloe shook her head.

“No need to apologize. Give me deeds, not words.”

Victoria pulled me close, and I eagerly melted into the kiss. After a couple of minutes I heard Chloe softly suggest something, “Max, why don’t you try kissing her neck.” I gave her a curious look, and then did as she asked; I was rewarded by a low moan from my girlfriend. Emboldened by this, Chloe made another observation. “Victoria, don’t you think your hands are a little too high up?” After a moment, I felt one of them tracing slowly down my back and then cupping my ass, before squeezing it and pulling us tightly together; it was my turn to moan. I’m not sure how long we carried on like that, letting Chloe’s little suggestions guide us. Eventually we separated, breathing heavily.

“Whoa,” I panted, “that was…”

“Hot!” we all said together.

“I mean, I accepted a long time ago that I’d missed my chance when it came to any kind of a physical relationship,” said Chloe. “I was always too scared to act on my interest in girls, and my one and only boyfriend dumped me while I was in hospital after the accident. But that… that was the next best thing. Thank-you so much for sharing that with me.” Victoria gave me a look that was first thoughtful, and then questioning. I raised an eyebrow, and she gave me a small nod in return.

“Why settle for second best?” asked Victoria as I walked slowly towards Chloe. “I know Maxine wants this,” she continued as I reached out to tenderly stroke Chloe’s cheek. “The question is, do you?”

Chloe stared at me, a myriad of emotions playing across her face. “Yes?” It was more a question than an answer. I decided on a more direct approach.

“Chloe, I’d very much like to kiss you right now. Please may I?”

“Yes,” she breathed. So I did. It was different from being kissed by Victoria; softer, more tentative. I was very aware that she had no real way of pulling back, so I was on high alert for any sign that she was uncomfortable. Instead, she pushed forward slightly, which I took a sign to deepen the kiss. Chloe made an approving noise as our tongues met. Eventually, oxygen deprivation forced me to pull back.

“I kissed a girl,” Chloe whispered, an expression of wonder on her face. This was quickly followed by a sly grin, “and I _liked_ it!”

Victoria groaned. “Way to kill the mood, Chloe!”

“How were you even able to speak?” I managed, once I got my breath back.

“Unexpected upside of being on a respirator, I guess.”

I turned to Victoria. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I actually am. Wouldn’t have believed that yesterday. Don’t go getting ideas about kissing anyone else, though,” she said with a warning tone.

“Darn,” I replied with a smile, “there goes my plan to seduce Kate.” Victoria laughed.

“Who’s Kate?” asked Chloe. “That’s the second time you’ve mentioned her.”

“Another friend from school; she’s incredibly lovely.”

“Also the deeply religious president of the abstinence club.”

“She caught us kissing after our first date, but instead of giving me a lecture about my sinful ways, she just wanted to make sure that big bad Victoria wasn’t taking advantage of me.”

“She sounds really nice,” smiled Chloe. Then, to Victoria, “so… earlier you said something about skipping the ‘by proxy’ part.”

Victoria blushed, and I couldn’t help laughing. “I believe the phrase is ‘hoist with your own petard.’”

“Only if you want to, of course,” Chloe said hurriedly.

Victoria hesitated for a moment, then said, “you know what? I actually do.” She leaned over and kissed her. I was expecting to feel a pang of jealousy at the sight, or at the moan Chloe let out; instead I just got a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. When they parted, Victoria grinned. “Congratulations, you beat Sangeeta’s record.”

“Time from first meeting to first kiss?” I hazarded a guess; she nodded in reply.

“So… was I better than Maxine?”

“Oh, no. I’m not getting into that,” said Chloe. “Your kisses were different, but neither was better. Although,” she continued thoughtfully, “if you wanted to compete, I’d be happy to act as an impartial judge. Obviously I’ll need a large sample set before I could even consider making a decision…”

“We’ve created a monster!” I said with a laugh.

“Seriously, you guys, thank-you so much for this. You’ve given me back something I thought I’d lost forever. I don’t have that much time left, and a few days ago I just wanted it to be over; you two have given me something to look forward to. I mean, assuming…”

“Of course!” Victoria beat me to it. “We’ll come and see you whenever we can, and don’t go thinking you’ve had your last kiss from either of us.” She then proceeded to demonstrate this.

“Hey,” I said when they parted, “it was my turn!”

“I’m sorry,” she replied, then pulled me into a searing kiss.

“Not quite what I meant,” I mumbled a couple of minutes later, “but I’m not complaining.”

“You should kiss me while you can, Max. I’m pretty much out of spoons, so I’m going to need to crash soon.”

“Aye, aye, Cap’n Chloe!” I said, and obeyed.

“Thanks again,” she said after we reluctantly separated, “I can’t express what today has meant to me.” She winced. “Look, I hate to kick you out, but…”

“Of course! We’ll see you again soon. And don’t forget that I’m the one who’s been wanting to kiss you since we were about ten!”

“It was really awesome to meet you,” added Victoria.

“You too. If you could send Mom or Dad in on the way out, that would be great.”

“Will do.”


	4. Just Hold Your Head Up to the Sun

We didn’t really say anything on the drive back to Blackwell. It was only when we got onto our dorm corridor that Victoria finally broke the silence. “Well, that was unexpected.”

“What was unexpected?” asked Kate as she came out of the bathroom.

“Uh… how well I got on with Maxine’s friend Chloe,” Victoria replied, clearly improvising.

“You two went to see her? How is she? I remembered her in my prayers this morning.”

“Thanks,” I said with a smile, “that’s very kind of you. Chloe’s doing about as well as can be expected, under the circumstances. Certainly she was happy to see us, and I think the three of us will be spending a lot more time together.”

“That’s great!” she enthused.

“Uh… Kate,” Victoria began awkwardly, “could I speak to you for a few moments.” Her eyes darted nervously around the corridor. “In private.”

“Of course!” she replied, opening the door to her room. “Come on in.”

“I’ll just go…” I began, but Victoria grabbed my hand and gave me a small shake of her head before pulling me after her into Kate’s room. I gently closed the door behind us.

“So?” Kate asked, an expectant smile on her face.

“I… uh…” Victoria began, staring fixedly at her feet; I gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. “I wanted to apologize to you for the abysmal way I treated you last year. You did nothing to deserve it, and I have no excuse. I can’t take back the things that I said or did, all I can do is promise that I’ll try not to repeat those mistakes.” Finally, she managed to look Kate in the eye. “I’m not here to beg for forgiveness; I just wanted you to know how sorry I am, for what little that’s worth.”

We all stood there silently for a few moments, then Kate reached out and took Victoria’s hand. “It’s worth more than you think,” she said softly, “but I believe that actions speak more loudly than words. When you rescued me at that party, you _showed_ me that you’d changed. I accept your apology now; you already had my forgiveness.”

“Thank-you,” Victoria whispered, before Kate surprised both of us by wrapping her arms around her. She hesitated for a moment, before returning the hug.

When she stepped back, Kate looked at me and blushed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have thrown myself at your girlfriend like that.”

I grinned, thinking of what we’d been doing with Chloe earlier. “That’s fine, Kate, she is very huggable.”

“I’m standing right here…” said Victoria, the slightest hint of irritation in her voice.

“Well, it’s true!” I said. “And very kissable too…” She resisted for only the barest moment before allowing my lips to press against hers. When I turned back to Kate, I saw that her blush had deepened. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“That’s okay,” she said with a small smile. “I’m happy for you – as long as that’s as far as things go.” It was impossible to tell if she was being serious, or just teasing. “And thank-you again for your apology, Victoria. It means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome,” she managed. “We’ll… see you around.” We left Kate’s room and retreated to Victoria’s.

“You were saying,” I said, “about something unexpected…?”

“I wasn’t lying, what I said to Kate. I was hoping that Chloe was someone I could get along with well enough because she’s important to you; instead I met someone who I immediately clicked with. I’m really looking forward to spending a lot more time with her.”

“You do realize that getting close to her means setting yourself up for some serious heartache a few weeks or months down the line?”

“I know, but _you_ were always going to be going through that; I think I’d rather share the pain with you than have to watch you go through it with nothing to offer you but empty platitudes. Besides, Chloe is worth it.”

I smiled. “You really do like her, don’t you?”

“I don’t make out with just anyone, you know!”

“Yeah, that was kinda hot. You didn’t have a problem with me kissing her?”

“You do remember that part where I was the one who suggested it, right? Seriously, though, I really don’t like the idea of you kissing anyone else, but with Chloe it just seemed… right.” She shrugged. “Don’t ask me to explain why.”

I pulled her into a hug, which segued into a kiss, then for a while we just held each other. After a while, I began to cry. “What’s the matter?” Victoria asked.

“It’s just so fucking unfair. Everything that’s happened to Chloe… what did she do to deserve any of that? I only just got her back, but already I know I’m going to lose her again so soon…” I stopped, pulling myself together. “I know that’s partly my fault. I should have gone to visit the moment I got back to Arcadia Bay, or tried harder to stay in touch, even come back here to visit her during the years we were apart…”

“Hey,” said Victoria, “stop that. You can’t change the past, so stop beating yourself up over it. What we _can_ do is make the most of the time Chloe has left. Spend as much time with her as we can, create as many memories as possible to treasure once she’s gone. And, above all else, bring her as much joy as we can manage.”

I smiled at her. “You’re right. Thanks for the verbal bitchslap. One thing I do clearly remember about out my time as a puppet is that Chloe didn’t seem to have any friends left in Arcadia Bay. At least we’ve been able to change that; do you think there’s anyone else we could introduce her to?”

“Kate,” said Victoria, instantly. “Even if she and Chloe didn’t particularly hit it off as friends, then I’m certain she would be happy to spend time with her, and be honestly nice about it.” She considered for a few seconds. “I can’t really think of anyone else who I would trust to be more than a fair-weather friend, and that’s the last thing Chloe needs.”

I thought about that, then nodded. “Unfortunately, you’re probably right. But Kate… I think Kate would be a good person for Chloe to have as a friend. I’m sure there are difficult things she’s going to need to talk about, and Kate seems like the sort of person who will know the right thing to say where all I could offer was sympathy.” I sighed. “I’m not sure I’m explaining very well.”

“That’s okay, I think I understand, and you’re right. We should probably talk to Kate before we suggest it Chloe, though.”

“Yeah, I can do that tomorrow.” I stepped towards her. “Right now, I have better things to do,” I said in my best seductive voice. Victoria took the hint, and kissed me.

* * *

The following Saturday, I headed to Chloe’s place with Kate in tow; Victoria was off doing a photography project with Taylor and Courtney. I was slightly nervous about whether Kate and Chloe were going to get on, but was determined not to let that spoil the afternoon. Joyce opened the door, but it was Chloe herself who greeted us. “Hi, Max, I though we might go for a roll along the seafront today. And you must be Kate, it’s lovely to meet you; both Max and Victoria speak highly of you.”

Kate smiled at her. “Thank-you, I’m so happy to finally meet you; those two have always spoken fondly of you as well. I wonder if that says more about them than it does about us.”

Chloe laughed as she rolled out of the door. “Perhaps it does.” We made our slow way down to the sea and then along the path above the beach. Chloe and Kate did most of the talking; at first going through the motions of getting to know each other, but then more earnestly.

I started out across the empty beach, a nagging feeling at the back of my head telling me there was something missing. Then, unbidden, a memory came back to me of another stroll along that bath with Chloe – and the beached whales we’d seen. Certainly they weren’t there any more, and I didn’t recall anyone else mentioning them. Did my memories of that day come from some alternate reality? If so, what else was different?

I got lost in my own thoughts for a while, until I heard slightly raised voices. At first, I thought that Chloe and Kate were arguing, but then I realized it was an amicable, if somewhat heated, debate. By the time we got back to the Price house, I could see the clear signs of a friendship blooming.

Kate excused herself to go to the bathroom, and Chloe looked up at me. “Thanks for introducing me to Kate; I really enjoyed talking to her. Don’t get me wrong, you’re still my best friend, and I loved spending time with Victoria too, but Kate’s different.” She considered for a moment. “She’s more of a sparring partner, really making me think about things, and she seemed to understand my depression – perhaps a little too well; you need to keep an eye on her.”

“I will, I promise, but hopefully that’s all in the past. She was getting bullied quite badly last year; Victoria would know, she confessed to being one of the ringleaders.” I saw the surprise registering on Chloe’s face. “I’m hoping that her turning over a new leaf, and them forming the beginnings of a friendship, are helping Kate put that behind her.”

“I hope so. No-one deserves that, certainly not somebody as nice as Kate.”

“What about you? How are you coping?”

Chloe looked at me like I’d asked a somewhat stupid question. “Being paralyzed and knowing I’m going to die soon kinda puts a dampener on everything.” I opened my mouth to apologize for asking, but she silenced me with a small shake of her head. “Sorry. I’m really glad that you didn’t… do what I asked you to do. I’d hit rock bottom and I saw a way out. Now, I suddenly have friends again, and I’m hoping that’s enough to keep me going until…” She trailed off, leaving the end unspoken.

“I hope that I can help with that,” said Kate, having returned.

“You already have,” said Chloe with a smile, “but I’d very much like it if you’d visit me again, either with Max or by yourself.”

“I will,” replied Kate, “it was really great to meet you and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.”

“Look, I hate to do this, but I’m going to have to kick you out in a mo; I’ve used up all my spoons and I’m going to need to head to bed.”

“Not problem,” I said, “we’ll see you again soon.” I hesitated. “What is it with the spoons?”

“Huh? Oh, right: spoon theory. It’s a way of trying to explain the effects of chronic medical conditions. Imagine that the spoons represent a unit of… energy, willpower, pain tolerance – whatever it is that you need to get through the day. Everything that you do has a cost. For someone more mobile, that might be: getting out of bed, that’s a spoon. Having a shower: another spoon, maybe two if you wanted to wash your hair and shave your legs. Getting dressed costs another spoon, as does making some breakfast, and so on.”

“Now you only get a limited number of spoons each day, and it’s not always the same amount. Imagine you get a bag of them in the morning; you can gauge its weight and have an idea of how much you’re going to be able to do, but you can’t know for sure how many you’ve got because a teaspoon and a big serving spoon are worth the same. Once those spoons run out, that’s it – you’re pretty much going to crash for the rest of the day.”

“The point is that you have to carefully decide what you are – and aren’t – going to do based on how many spoons you think you’ve got. In an emergency, you can borrow some spoons from the next day, but that comes at the cost of guaranteeing tomorrow is going to be horrible. If you know you’re going to have particularly busy day, better to rest up for a few days before and hoard some extra spoons for when you need them.”

I just stared at her, struggling to imagine what it would be like to have to plan which of my everyday activities I actually had the energy for. I quickly realized just how much I took for granted. “I… I had no idea.”

“I’m not sure if anyone can truly understand who hasn’t been in that position themselves, but you can at least be aware. Look, explaining spoon theory really did use up my last spoon, so…”

I quickly leaned forward and kissed Chloe’s cheek. “Okay, go get some rest.”

“I look forward to seeing you again,” added Kate, then we slipped out of the house. I was hoping that with Kate on board too, Chloe would have at least one friend visiting her most days. As we walked back to the bus stop, she asked me a question, using a conspicuously casual tone of voice. “Why did you ask me to come and meet Chloe?” She was smart; she knew I hadn’t really been trying to do _her_ a favor.

“Because Chloe could really use another friend, but it needed to be someone with the strength and compassion to stick with her through what’s coming – the last thing she needs is for someone else to abandon her. You were the only person I know who fits the bill. I was also hoping that you would be able to give her… I dunno, spiritual guidance?”

“So, not really for my benefit?”

I winced. “Not so much. I mean, I was hoping that you would like her, but if I’m going to be honest, I guess I was rather taking advantage of your good nature. I’m sorry, that was not cool.”

Kate looked at me for a moment, then smiled. “That’s okay, Max. I could have said ‘no’ when you asked, and I knew what I was getting into. While Chloe’s not perhaps someone I would have chosen to be friends with, I do actually like her. And you’re right; I think I might be able to help her, at least a little bit.” Kate hesitated for a moment. “What was it that she asked you to do?”

I debated whether or not to tell her, but decided that she deserved to know – and that I could trust her with the secret. “The first time I saw Chloe again, she asked me to give her a morphine overdose.” I went on to explain what I could remember of that day – minus the whales. Kate digested it for a couple of minutes before responding.

“I know that the church sees suicide as a mortal sin, but I refuse to believe that God would punish someone with a terminal condition who chose to use that escape from their suffering.”

“So you would support the right to die?”

“The moral right, yes. The legal right… that’s a more difficult question. How do you allow that for people with a genuine need and desire without opening the door for abuse? Say, for elderly and infirm parents to be pressured into it merely because their middle-aged children feel that they’ve become a burden.” She sighed. “Like most questions of morality, there’s no easy answer – but plenty of people to advocate fanatically for either side.”

I didn’t have an answer for that, either.

* * *

We got back to school just in time to catch dinner in the canteen, then headed over to the dorm. I went straight for Victoria’s room; her door was ajar, so I simply walked in. “Hey, you.”

“Hey!” Victoria looked up with a smile “How did it go with Kate and Chloe?”

“Mission accomplished. They got on pretty well – in fact, I ended up as a bit of a third wheel. Kate totally rumbled our evil scheme, by the way; thankfully she’s far too nice to really give me a hard time about it.”

“Great! Between the three of us, hopefully we can keep Chloe from getting too lonesome. So… what are your plans for this evening? Much work to do?”

“Actually, no, I’m all caught up.”

“Excellent,” said Victoria with a feral grin, “so am I.” She prowled over to me and pulled me into a passionate kiss, then dragged me backwards until we tumbled onto her bed.

“Um,” I managed breathlessly, “I’m not sure I’m ready for…”

Victoria stroked my face tenderly. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on popping your cherry tonight. I would like to figure out where the boundaries of what you _are_ comfortable with lie at the moment, though; I’m kinda hoping that they’re somewhere beyond first base.”

I rolled back slightly, and propped myself up on one elbow to look down at her. “Oh, I think you’ll find that they are,” I said, then boldly ran my hand up her body and stroked the side of her breast; Victoria shivered. “After all, we have someone living vicariously through us, and we wouldn’t want her getting bored.”

“So you’re saying that we have to do this, for Chloe.”

“Exactly,” I said, nodding with exaggerated earnestness.

“Well, we wouldn’t want to disappoint her,” whispered Victoria, as she pulled me back down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Series notes A: Certainly the story came first, and initially the use of the “Save William” OU gave me an interesting starting point for the Max/Victoria dynamic, but Chloe quickly became an important part if the story too. The track title ties in with Chloe’s use of a respirator, and lyrically it seemed to fit as well.
> 
> Series notes B: As well as the element, Oxygen also refers to the molecule O₂ – here representing Max & Victoria. I leave you to speculate about titles and plots of future entries in the series.


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